Over the past 20 – 30 years, fiber has been a leading dietary factor connected to worsening weight control. Less fiber, less control has been the health risk. You should have noticed on "The Biggest Loser" tv show in 2006 that dietary fiber amounts were noticeable. So this idea of weight control and dieting with its relationship to fiber intake is not a new idea. The real concern with increasing obesity, diabetes, cancer, and childhood obesity and its complications, is the amount of fiber, and the type of fiber that is of special focus today.

Generally, obese men and women have less fiber in their diets. In fact, overweight persons generally consume about one-half of the fiber that is recommended. Many times, programs for weight loss find that the "client" is not using enough fiber to assist in weight loss management, therefore causing increased risk of failure of the weight loss program.

Many persons do not like high-fiber in general. Why? Foods like beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can cause bloating and gas; and they just do not like that feeling. Many jokes of such problems exist, but what really happens is tolerance to fiber does occur…it gets better.

High-fiber diets help your body making contents inside the bowel bulkier with water holding properties. It helps distend your stomach, small and large bowel – helping you feel fuller longer. It also causes the feeling of hunger to go away.

Soluble fiberespecially causes a viscous suspension. (See previous castMD detail at the link http://www.castmd.com/?p=36 . These slurries delay stomach emptying and allows nutrient absorption. Hunger pains are minimized. In addition, some fats are held in the fiber, allowing yet the proteins and carbohydrates to be absorbed. This slowing, and delaying, and changing the food load is called "spreading the nutrient load."

Fiber helps change the hormones that control food metabolism. Sugar in your system is more stable, and even; and the metabolism is more controlled with insulin avoiding the highs and lows of sugar and its rebound in the blood stream.

With this better and longer control of your glycemic load, energy is maintained on lesser calories. There are fewer "hunger signals" to the appetitie centers, allowing more work with less calories. You're not eating as much and you are using calories already "on board."

Many parents with CAD (coronary artery disease) have overweight children. And those kids had more complications of health risks that other kids. With the addition of high-fiber, better control of weight, cholesterol, blood sugar, and insulin release was maintained. Risk of "metabolic syndrome" or "syndrome X" goes down with high-fiber supplementation. With this, insulin resistance goes down; – while hyperlipidemia, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and type 1 and type 2 diabetes all have improvement.

Obesity continues as diets are high in fats, high in added sugars, and low in soluble fibers.

At least 25 to 30 grams of soluble fiber is recommended daily, slowly added from about 5 grams per day over 2-3 months – to maintain a healthy weight.

IN SUMMARY:ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS HEALTHIER *

SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS SLOW DOWN THE RATE THAT FOOD NUTRIENTS ARE ABSORBED

SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS YOU FEEL LESS HUNGRY

SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES YOU TAKE IN

SOLUBLE FIBER HELPS PROTECT YOU FROM THE RISKS OF SEVERAL SERIOUS DISEASES.